Impact of the Iranian Revolution on the Global Stage
TITLE
Assess the impact of the Iranian Revolution outside Iran.
ESSAY
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 had a profound impact not only within Iran but also on the political landscape of the Middle East and beyond. The fall of the Shah and the subsequent establishment of an Islamic Republic under Ayatollah Khomeini ushered in a new era of anti-Western sentiment that manifested in various ways externally.
One of the most prominent events following the Iranian Revolution was the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979, where 66 hostages were held for over a year. This crisis not only strained relations between Iran and the United States but also had wider repercussions. The hostage crisis contributed to the loss of a key US ally in the region and led to years of sanctions against Iran, further isolating the country on the international stage.
The revolution also triggered a regional power struggle, particularly between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The establishment of the Islamic Republic challenged Saudi Arabia's claim to leadership of the Muslim world and led to increased efforts by the Saudis to spread Wahhabism as a counter to Iran's Shia influence. This competition between the two regional powers fueled sectarian tensions across the Middle East and beyond, with consequences for Sunni-Shia relations in various countries.
Furthermore, the Iranian Revolution played a role in influencing the Soviet Union's decision to invade Afghanistan in 1979. The Soviet invasion was partly driven by fears of an Islamic resurgence inspired by Iran's success in establishing an Islamic state. This event not only intensified the Cold War dynamics in the region but also laid the groundwork for the rise of political Islam in the subsequent decades.
In addition, the Iranian Revolution inspired Islamic political movements across the Muslim world, leading to the emergence of Islamic political parties in various countries. These groups sought to emulate Iran's model of an Islamic state and challenged the existing secular order, arguing that the Iranian revolution had demonstrated the viability of an Islamic alternative to secular governance.
Overall, the impact of the Iranian Revolution outside Iran was significant and multifaceted. It reshaped regional politics, fueled anti-Western sentiment, influenced power dynamics in the Middle East, and contributed to the rise of political Islam as a potent force in the Muslim world. The events following the revolution reverberated far beyond Iran's borders, shaping the geopolitical landscape of the region for years to come.
SUBJECT
HISTORY
PAPER
A LEVEL
NOTES
Assess the impact of the Iranian Revolution outside Iran.
The Shah fled Iran in January 1979. On 1st February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran from exile to widespread support. He became the face of a revolution that overthrew the Shah’s corrupt and repressive monarchy, resulting in the establishment of an Islamic Republic which was declared on 1st April 1979, after winning overwhelming support in a national referendum.
However, the Iranian Revolution also had a great impact on the politics of the region and beyond. There was great anti-Western sentiment in Iran. In November 1979, a group of protestors seized 66 hostages at the US Embassy and demanded that that US President, Jimmy Carter, extradite the Shah, who was in New York for cancer treatment. The 52 hostages who were held for over a year were not released until minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as successor to Carter. The US thus gained a new enemy in the Middle East and lost a key ally against the communist threat during the Cold War. It also resulted in years of sanctions against Iran.
The Iranian revolution forced the US into building a military presence in the region. This started with the Iran-Iraq war which began in 1980; Iraq aimed to bring down the theocratic regime in Iran, but the war ended in stalemate after eight years. The US supported Saddam Hussein. For Iran’s revolutionaries, Iraq was just a proxy for the wider struggle against the United States, the ‘Great Satan’ and its allies, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Since the revolution, Iranian leaders have pledged to eradicate the ‘Zionist regime’ in Israel and have provided resources to militias to Israel in the region. In the early 1980s, Hezbollah emerged with financial backing from Iran and began a struggle to drive Israeli troops from Lebanon.
The Iranian revolution marked the beginning of a regional sectarian Cold War between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The revolution challenged Saudi Arabia’s monarchy and its claim for leadership of the Muslim world. Consequently, the 1979 Islamic Revolution led the Saudis to increase their efforts to spread Wahhabism and to discredit Khomeini’s vision of Islam by stressing its Shia identity. The impact of this strategy had consequences far beyond Saudi Arabia; it encouraged the rise of Sunni fundamentalism from Africa to the Far East, especially in Indonesia.
The US regarded the Saudi religious policy as useful in containing the Soviet Union and restricting the potential for Iran’s Shia expansion eastwards. The Soviet Union seized the opportunity to invade Afghanistan in 1979. This was driven in part by fears of an Islamic resurgence there inspired by the revolution in Iran. The Soviets were seeking to contain Islam on their doorstep and to prevent it spreading to Central Asia. Iran’s success showed that it was possible to establish an Islamic state and this led to the resurgence of political Islam.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Islamic political parties sprang up in almost all Muslim countries, aiming to Islamise societies through the instruments of state. They declared the secular model had failed to deliver progress and full independence, and the Islamic model was the only alternative. For them, the Iranian revolution was proof it could be a reality.